What to sow and grow in May.

May is one of the busiest times of the year to be sowing and planting vegetables. It's probably easier to say what you shouldn't sow and plant at this time than what you can. As mentioned above, in the UK we've passed the last frost date although it's quite possible to have a few chilly nights especially up in Scotland, but most things can go in.

It's too late to sow Chillies, Peppers and Aubergines as they have a very long growing season. They will grow, but you may not get a harvest from them before the weather turns cold again. If however you buy plants that are established then now is the time to plant them out or in a greenhouse or poly tunnel.

It's too late for Garlics to go in too or to sow Celeriac, but anything else, go for it. Things like Carrots and Parsnips should be sown straight into the ground and kept well watered. You can sow Sweetcorn now along with any types of Beans and Summer Squash.

Vegetable Families - The who's who of veg.

Knowing which family a vegetable plant belongs to can be very helpful because the growing conditions and the nutrients needed for plants in a particular family are usually similar.

Knowing which family your vegetable plants belong to can help you choose the best companion plants and help identify which plants should be grown in succession for crop rotation in your vegetable garden. I have to confess there are some on this handy chart that I haven't heard of until now.

Members Questions

This month Catherine asks, "Help! I can't stop those pesky little flies that get at my seedlings. What can I do?"

The pesky little flies Catherine, are called Fungus Gnats. They arrive in store bought compost or infested pot plants and it's very difficult to avoid them. However there are some things you can do to stop them from becoming a nuisance.

First of all don't over water your pots and make sure there is adequate drainage. Fungus gnats love damp conditions so allow the top bit of the soil to dry out in between watering and don't let your seedlings sit in water.

One way to catch them and stop them from breeding is to get a glass jug and put a couple of centimetres of apple cider vinegar at the bottom. Then cover the jug with cling film and make a very small hole in the middle of the film. Fungus gnats love the smell and will climb in and not be able to find their way out. Then when you have a few you can release them away from your seedlings.

The other way is to buy yourself some yellow sticky cards. Fungus gnats are attracted to the colour yellow and I have found these cards to be very effective. If you lay them horizontally close to the soil they will get stuck and not be able to infest your other seedlings. I hang a couple in my greenhouse and I've got one in my kitchen. They don't particularly look nice, but they are better than those pesky little flies. I recently bought some from this company HERE